Get Social

Rounds aims for both health care, tax reform by 2018

Daily Republic (Mitchell, SD)

Aug. 03--U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds hopes to bring health care reform back from the dead, but he's content with moving on to tax reform for the time being.

Last week, Rounds and fellow South Dakota Republican U.S. Sen. John Thune joined 47 other senators to a narrow defeat to repeal portions of the Affordable Care Act. And if health care reform appears viable, Rounds is ready to put tax reform aside and return to the health care debate.

"We're going to try to do both, and I think tax reform would probably end up taking the back seat yet if we can more forward on health care reform," Rounds said in a call with media on Thursday.

The former South Dakota governor said he'll work with anyone on either side of the aisle to help reform the existing health care system he has repeatedly said is falling victim to rising premiums. What's more likely, however, is the Senate moves on to what may be a more successful battle: tax reform.

Rounds isn't a novice in the tax reform discussion, having introduced legislation in May he said would cut the average South Dakota family's tax burden by 16 percent. That legislation, which Rounds referenced Thursday, would've cut taxes 2 percent in each bracket.

If there's one area Rounds believes "everyone agrees," it's that taxes are "too high."

And while Republicans weren't able to reform Obamacare when it had sole possession of the spotlight, the optimistic senator suggested both the health care system and tax code could be reformed simultaneously.

"I'll take either one. They don't have to be one or the other, but I think we want to get them both done and I'd like to see them both done before the end of the year," Rounds said.

With the August recess back on after the failed health care vote, Rounds will be back home in South Dakota next week. And while signing off from his call with reporters on Thursday, he confirmed he will attend Dakotafest southeast of Mitchell in mid-August.